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Gran Turismo 7 Spec III Update 1.65 & Power Pack DLC Now Available
Ten weeks after it was first announced, the bumper Gran Turismo 7 Spec III update is now available to players worldwide, bringing a host of new content and features to get to grips with. If you didn't check in ahead of time and missed out on the preload -- only the second time a GT7 update has be
For many contractors, losing ACA subsidies means losing health care
The GOP's unprecedented premium hikes put chronically ill workers—especially freelancers—in peril.
Unsafe storage, other health violations found at AZ grocery stores
Inspectors found unsafe food temperatures, contamination risks and improper storage at multiple Maricopa County grocery stores in November.
4 Books On Turning Human Connection Into Business Growth
As automation gathers pace, a people-first philosophy is more important than ever for thriving businesses.
Small Business Saturday Redo
Small, locally owned shops can be found throughout the Kenosha Area. Some have been here for generations, while new ones continue to open. Since Mother Nature snowed all over our special day (on November 29) to support small businesses, let's try again! See the Facebook link of what businesses to visit in person on Saturday, December 6 during normal business hours for great deals and more!
Florida wildlife agency’s leaders claim they don’t have to follow science
When I was growing up here in Florida, everyone revered science. We looked to high-IQ scientists to tell us how to fly to the moon, how to transplant a heart, how to fire up a laser, how the universe began with a Big Bang. But science is clearly out of favor now, especially in Florida. […]
Special education needs embedded mental health support
As schools struggle to manage emotional and behavioral challenges, a mental health crisis among children in special education grows.
How TheWrap’s Power Women Summit Helped Entertainment Leaders Speak Up For Real Change
On December 2nd, hundreds of women from across the entertainment industry came together at The Maybourne Beverly Hills for a day filled with empowerment, thoughtful panels, and genuine connection for TheWrap's Power Women Summit, presented by STARZ.
Venezuela’s Maduro confirms ‘cordial’ call with Trump amid tensions with US
Venezuelan leader expresses hope phone call marks beginning of 'respectful dialogue' between Washington and Caracas.
The Tennessee 'waltz': Republicans and Democrats dance around special election results meaning
Tennessee special election results spark debate over 2026 midterms as Republicans maintain House seat despite heavy Democratic spending and efforts.
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Ipsos | Global Market Research and Public Opinion specialist.
Diablo 4 Season 11 arrives just hours after The Game Awards, fueling speculation among fans that Blizzard timed the launch as a deliberate strategy. But why?
Season 11 of Diablo 4 arrives in the shadow of The Game Awards, and fans are debating whether Blizzard’s timing was a coincidence or a calculated move to maximize attention.
Jennifer Lopez And Gwyneth Paltrow Honored At THR’s Women In Entertainment Gala
To kick off the program, "I Love LA" creator-star Rachel Sennott hosted and delivered the opening remarks. In addition to Sennott, Dakota Johnson, Goldie Hawn, Regina Hall, Chase Infiniti, and Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney were part of the star-studded lineup for the event. With nearly 600 entertainment industry leaders, actresses, actors, and VIPs, the event was inspiring and served as a safe space for titans in entertainment to convene.
Watchdog finds Hegseth risked endangering troops by sharing of sensitive war plans on Signal, sources say
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information, which could have endangered American troops and mission objectives, when he used Signal in March of this year to share highly-sensitive attack plans targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to four sources familiar with the contents of a classified Inspector General report that was sent to Congress Tuesday night.
‘Small Business Saturday’ Hopes Dashed By 18% Spending Decline In 2025
Small Business Saturday spending dropped sharply this year, with consumers prioritizing bargains over supporting local shops due to high inflation and low confidence.
Google Photos 2025 Recap rolling out with stats, Gemini, more
Following YouTube and YouTube Music, Google Photos is continuing the annual retrospectives with its 2025 Recap...
Why VIP Sports Experiences Need A Brain, Not Just A Better Seat
VIP Experiences need a refresh. VOW Founder talks about strategy to create increased engagement.
Mental health conditions may heighten liver cancer risk in veterans due to increased hepatitis C, UCLA study finds
A new study led by UCLA Health investigators found that mental health conditions, especially alcohol use disorder and PTSD, significantly increase the likelihood of developing liver cancer among Veterans living with cirrhosis of any etiology.
How do we know the role of climate change in weather events? Attribution science.
Attribution science helps us measure how much more likely, frequent, or intense specific weather events are because of human-caused climate change.
School Specialty's New Edition of Its Phenomena-Based Science Curriculum--FOSS Pathways™--Wins Parent and Teacher Choice Award
School Specialty, a leading provider of supplies, furniture and curriculum for the education marketplace, today announced that its newly released FOSS Pathways™ Edition for PreK–5 has been named a Parent and Teacher Choice Award winner. The new edition of the highly-respected Full Option Science System™ (FOSS®) curriculum, developed at the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley, introduces a next-generation, phenomena-based, hands-on science program designed to meet rigorou
Republicans barely won in a Trump-friendly Tennessee district. Here’s what it means for Pennsylvania and 2026.
The fact Democrats turned a special election in a deep-red district into a nail-bitter is a bad sign for Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterms.
West Village business hit in possible arson attack as 6 suspects seen...
Possible Molotov cocktail thrown through window of West Village business
A suspected Molotov cocktail appears to have been thrown through the window of a West Village store.
Students Advocate For More Science Funding
A national student-led effort shows how early-career researchers are engaging Congress on federal science funding amid continued uncertainty over FY 2026 appropriations.
Modelo and Corona are unexpected casualties of Trump’s immigration crackdown
Constellation Brands, the US owner of Modelo Especial and Corona, bet big on Latino customers for growth. But that strategy is unraveling under the Trump administration’s mass deportation push.
Small Business Saturday sheds light on local storefronts, sees lower turnout due to winter storm
During a winter storm, members of the Evanston community battled howling winds and freezing temperatures to shop at Evanston’s third annual Small Business Saturday. Having begun in 2010 as a nationwide movement to support smaller, family-owned stores, this year’s Small Business Saturday featured special deals from 28 participating local businesses in Evanston. Downtown Evanston also...
Athens area voters to decide new state representative in special election
With a state House seat in Athens open, Republicans are looking to preserve the seat while Democrats are hoping to flip it.
Yale Political Union leaders proud of group’s respectful debates
As universities face criticism for an alleged lack of intellectual diversity, student leaders across party lines in the Yale Political Union say that debate there has been blossoming.
Comedy Superstar Matt Rife's New Show Sparks Excitement
Matt Rife’s holiday crowd work special now on Netflix.
Florida wildlife agency’s leaders claim they don’t have to follow science
When I was growing up here in Florida, everyone revered science. We looked to high-IQ scientists to tell us how to fly to the moon, how to transplant a heart, how to fire up a laser, how the universe began with a Big Bang. But science is clearly out of favor now, especially in Florida. […]
Analysis: Trump is talking about everything — but not two things that really matter
Amid a deluge of jokes, insults, social media rage and warnings of imminent military action that have spilled from President Donald Trump in an especially loquacious few days, there have been two startling omissions.
Science N Girls inspires young women to pursue science careers
MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – Science N Girls is a program that is hosted by both the Sibley Nature Center and Coterra, where local scientists share their experiences in their respective field…
Republicans avoided a nightmare in Tennessee. Their electoral picture is still scary
Republicans avoided disaster on Tuesday night by winning a special election in a solidly red Tennessee congressional district.
Analysis: Kalani Sitake’s decision to stay at BYU another indication that the school is all-in on achieving sports success
Ten-year Cougars coach ended three days of heavy speculation that he would leave for Penn State by signing another contract extension in Provo
Rep. Crow to GOP: Trump is going ‘cost you your job’ after high-stakes TN special election
Projection: Republican Matt Van Epps will win Tennessee special election
Republican Matt Van Epps wins House special election in Tennessee
Van Epps has won a nationally watched special election in Tennessee for a seat in the U.S. House, maintaining his party’s grip on the district with help from President Donald Trump.
Trump signs legislation to streamline TSA screenings of breastmilk, formula
As any parent is likely willing to attest, traveling with children, especially infants, can be stressful. A new law aims to relieve some of the burden.
Republican Matt Van Epps will win Tennessee special election, averting Democratic upset, CNN projects
Republican Matt Van Epps will win the special US House election for Tennessee’s 7th District, CNN’s Decision Desk projects, preventing an upset but emboldening Democrats as they were on track to over-perform in a normally deep-red district.
Republican Matt Van Epps holds deep-red House district in Tennessee special election
Van Epps defeated Democrat Aftyn Behn, NBC News projects, after an expensive campaign to replace former Rep. Mark Green.
Days from death? Speculation surrounds health of 'Green River Killer' Gary Ridgway
Local and national speculation continues to swirl around the possibly delcining health status of Gary Ridgway, the notorious WA serial killer.
World Health Organization issues guidelines for GLP-1 weight loss medication use
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel discusses the World Health Organization announcing its first guidelines on weight loss drugs, his book ‘The Miracles Among Us’ and its Fox Nation special on ‘America’s Newsroom.’
Where Science Meets Storytelling: Twelve Years of the Science Blogs Web Archive
More than a decade after its launch, the Science Blogs Web Archive continues to grow and evolve. In this interview, Jennifer “JJ” Harbster reflects on building and maintaining the collection, while intern Yahir Brito brings a fresh perspective on updating and expanding it. Together, they share a few of their favorite blogs and discuss why it is important to preserve these unique examples of scientific communication.
AT&T commits to ending DEI programs
US wireless carrier AT&T said in a letter to the US telecoms regulator that it had committed to ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs, a move that comes as it seeks approval from the Trump administration to buy wireless spectrum assets.
Gutfeld: Democrats only care about victims for ‘politics’
‘The Five’ co-hosts discuss the Trump administration’s drug crackdown and alleged ‘double tap’ of suspected drug boats in Venezuela.
Olympic ice surface being built to specs smaller than NHL rinks, per source, sparking new concerns
The Olympic rink will have a shorter length but not substantially greater width, per a source, leaving players with less room to maneuver.
Republicans are covering their backsides on the double-tap strike
After reports Friday that the US had conducted a second strike on a suspected drug vessel in order to kill survivors of its first strike – quite possibly in violation of the law of armed conflict – few defended the Trump administration more strongly than Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez of Florida.
GOP senator: Hegseth is either lying about second boat strike or incompetent
Republican Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday accused Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of either lying in his public response to news reports that the US military carried out a follow-up strike on a suspected drug boat in September or being incompetent.
3 reasons to watch Tennessee's special election
We've arrived at the sixth special election in the House this year. Here's what to know.
Spartans star specialist to forego final year, enter NFL Draft
One of the best players on the Spartans this year is heading to the NFL
Worcester health official sounds alarm over mpox cases in city
The recent emergence of two cases of mpox in Worcester raises concerns especially among the homeless population, the city's medical director says.
‘My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman’ Sets Season 6 Premiere; MrBeast, Michael B. Jordan & Jason Bateman Join Show
David Letterman is back with Season 6 of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction on Netflix. The former late-night host recently sat down with Jay Kelly star Adam Sandler for a special episode. That December 1 episode was not part of Season 6, which will premiere on December 16. It comes after Netflix renewed My …
Live Results: Tennessee 7th Congressional District special election
Less than a month after Democrats scored a string of victories over Republicans in the Nov. 4 general election, the next test at the ballot box for both parties heading into the 2026 midterm season will be Tuesday in a Tennessee special congressional election on usually reliable GOP turf.
Colts’ Stock Up/Down: Week 13 vs. Texans
Stock Up Alec Pierce No player in the NFL has earned himself more money than Pierce has this season. He has elevated his game to a whole different level and is right now the Colts’ best wide receiver on the roster, not just a deep threat specialist like last year with AR. He gets open […]
How To Scale Your Business With Influencers
Influencer marketing has evolved from experimental tactics to a channel driving impact across the full funnel, with leaders recognizing its bottom-line value.
Is Trending Stock AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (AMC) a Buy Now?
AMC Entertainment (AMC) has received quite a bit of attention from Zacks.com users lately. Therefore, it is wise to be aware of the facts that can impact the stock's prospects.
Forbes Daily: Gen Z Leaders Now Dominate The Forbes 30 Under 30
Today’s Forbes Daily newsletter covers the new 30 Under 30 list, Sam Altman’s OpenAI memo, NYC casino proposals move forward, Eli Lilly slashes Zepbound costs and more.
Logitech Named to Inc. Best in Business 2025 List
Logitech Sight's Smart Switching feature, powered by RightSight 2, recognized in Best AI Implementation Category for enhancing hybrid meeting equity Intelligent multicamera framing listed in Best AI Implementation category Honored for AI tech that fixes poor hybrid meeting experiences Company selected based on ingenuity, industry impact, superior execution Today, Logitech (SIX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) was named to Inc. Best in Business 2025 list. The annual awards celebrate the exceptional achievements and contributions of companies that have made a profound impact in their industries. Based on the AI-powered Smart Switching feature of Logitech Sight tabletop conference camera, the company has been recognized in the Best AI Implementation category. The AI-powered Smart Switching feature of Logitech Sight automatically selects the best angle between multiple cameras. The experience to the remote viewer is like that of a TV production. Logitech developed Smart Switching in response to a
50% Copper Tariffs Have Tennessee Small Business on Edge
A small, specialty manufacturer in Tennessee struggles to survive as semi-finished copper tariffs strain their operations.
30 Under 30 Sports 2026: Meet The Athletes And Executives Changing The Game
The future of sports is already here thanks to these young all-stars who are winning on and off the field.
30 Under 30 Hollywood & Entertainment 2026: The Actors, Producers And Financiers Ushering In A New Wave Of Entertainment
Lola Tung, Chris Briney and Mikey Madison are taking over Hollywood. Here’s a look at more young stars—on screen and behind the scenes—shaping the business of entertainment.
30 Under 30 Science 2026: New Discoveries From The Cosmo To The Nanoscale
These young scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs are working to build a better world at every scale imaginable.
Tennessee special election stirs Democratic hopes and Republican fears of an upset
Tennessee’s 7th congressional district is usually an easy win for Republicans. But Tuesday’s special election gives Democrats hope for an upset as they test just how far their recently successful message of affordability can take them.
Why Republicans are sweating Tuesday’s special election in ‘Trump Country’
The surprisingly competitive race in Tennessee’s ruby-red 7th Congressional District is a high-profile test of voters’ attitudes about the president’s agenda.
Democrats and Republicans are pouring money into a special election in Tennessee. Here's why
Tuesday's special election for Tennessee's 7th Congressional District between Democrat Aftyn Behn and Republican Matt Van Epps has attracted outsize attention and spending from both parties.
21 South Bend area restaurants with priority health violations; 59 get perfect inspection
The health violations occurred during health inspections from Oct. 1-15.
Behind the scenes of Prenuvo, the health startup providing full-body MRI scans
Prenuvo, a preventive health startup offering full-body MRI scans, has attracted online attention from influencers. NBC News’ Gadi Schwartz tested the scan, interviewed the CEO about the future of healthcare, and spoke with specialists about the treatment's advantages and disadvantages.
Apple just named a new AI chief with Google and Microsoft expertise, as John Giannandrea steps down
The move is being characterized as a shake-up, but was seemingly inevitable in retrospect.
Jets unit leaving no doubt they are NFL's best: 'True game-changer'
The leader of this pack of dogs is Chris Banjo, who’s just three years removed from his 10-year NFL playing career as a core special teams player on three different teams.
Sports Editors' Athletes of the Year
Jake Knapp, Chloe Humphrey, Ryleigh Heck and Reese Brantmeier led the way for their respective teams this year.
SIU’s Simon Institute hosts Pulitzer Prize-winning scholar on nation’s political contradictions
Paul Starr, a Pulitzer Prize-winning scholar at Princton University and the founding co-editor of The American Prospect magazine, will join Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute for a virtual conversation on Tuesday, Dec. 9.
Raptors, Trail Blazers plan to learn from respective losing streaks
The Toronto Raptors aim to regain their winning touch during a five-game homestand that starts Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Gen Z And AI In The Business World
Gen Z founders surf AI-driven digital waves, prioritizing collaboration, owned platforms, differentiation, and hyper-personalized engagement.
Pup Mayor Cooper marks first official duty: Launching Downtown Madison’s Entertainment District
Celebrate the launch of Downtown Madison’s Entertainment District with Pup Mayor Cooper and the community at this special event.
Top 5 Entertainment News: From Samantha Ruth Prabhu's wedding with Raj Nidimoru to Delhi HC directing CBFC to consider Major Mohit Sharma's parents' concerns about 'Dhurandhar' | Hindi Movie News - The Times of India
In a recent interview, Kamal Haasan put to rest any speculation about his retirement, emphasizing that it is ultimately his fans who will determine hi
Trump says 'whole world is watching' Tennessee race as GOP works to avert disaster
President Trump told Tennesseans "the whole world is watching" as Republicans work to avert a disaster in a closely watched special election.
The Guardian view on men’s health: the needs of different groups can only be addressed in a functioning system
Editorial: The specific health issues faced by boys and men deserve attention. But waiting lists stand in the way of improvement
Gov. Joe Lombardo signs first responder health bill passed during special session
The Professional Fire Fighters of Nevada, whose representatives had lobbied hard for the bill, thanked the governor in a news release issued Monday.
Johnson and Trump Try to Avoid an Upset House Loss in Tennessee
Speaker Mike Johnson put the president on speakerphone during a Monday stop in the state, underscoring the unusual amount of national attention on a House special election.
Thinking Of Starting A Business In 2026? Focus On These 4 High-Impact Areas.
Discover the four high-impact areas where entrepreneurs can build meaningful, future-proof businesses in 2026—from workforce reskilling to human-AI collaboration.
iOS 26.2 Release Date: What To Expect And When From The Next Critical iPhone Update
Apple’s next iPhone update is full of new features, large and small. Here’s why it’s important and when it’s coming.
Why I recommend the iPad Mini over pricier models - especially at $150 off now
There are so many iPad models out there, but the Mini reigns supreme in terms of portability, particularly when on sale for Cyber Monday.
Mayor Villalobos intensifies effort to confront ongoing issues in McAllen’s Entertainment District
McAllen’s Entertainment and Cultural Overlay District, commonly known as the 17th Street entertainment district, was created in 2005 to allow bars, clubs, and music venues to operate under special permits with added safety requirements.
Shark scientists want their research to help save threatened species, but don’t know how. Our new paper can help.
Sharks are some of the most threatened animals on Earth, and accordingly many scientists who study sharks want their research to be useful for conservation. However, most scientific training does n…
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Tennessee's special congressional election
Less than a month after Democrats scored big victories in the Nov. 4 general election, voters in a heavily Republican Tennessee congressional district will fill a vacant seat Tuesday in the closely divided U.S. House
Top 10 Healthcare Industry Predictions For 2026
Sachin Jain’s annual list of health industry predictions covering managed care, hospitals, pharma, digital health, and entrepreneurship.
Scientists just found a way to tell if quantum computers are wrong
Researchers unveiled a new technique that validates quantum computer results—especially those from GBS devices—in minutes instead of millennia. Their findings expose unexpected errors in a landmark experiment, offering a crucial step toward truly reliable quantum machines.
Science must move from materialism to mystery
Theoretical physicist and neuroscientist Àlex Gómez-Marín argues that modern science has become trapped in a framework that mistakes matter for the whole of reality. In this wide-ranging interview, Gómez-Marín challenges the foundations of materialism, defends the scientific study of near-death experiences, and calls for a new type of science grounded in mystery and a renewed sense of the sacred. He suggests that abandoning materialism could open the door to a deeper understanding of consciousness, death, and the purpose of human existence. Simon Custer: You are both a theoretical physicist and a neuroscientist, and you have also been fiercely critical of materialist theories of mind and consciousness. What do you think the ultimate nature of reality is?Àlex Gómez-Marín: I don't know what the ultimate nature of reality is, but what I try to first assess is whether the stories that they [mainstream science] have told us about it are right, or maybe whether there are other alternatives. That's why I've been a fierce critic of materialism. As a scientist, I realized that they had sold us this idea that to be a good scientist you also had to subscribe to many other -isms, like materialism, reductionism, and even secularism. And so first I think one needs to unmount these -isms, and then, as is happening today in consciousness studies, we have a huge landscape where there isn't only one game in town, the idea that matter is the only thing that really exists. But because we are studying the hard problem of consciousness, it may be the case that other views of reality, like idealism, or even dualism, or other theories like dual aspect monism... these are philosophical ideas that now, I think, have room in science to be taken seriously. How does something like materialism relate to dualism or idealism? What is materialism in the first place?Well, materialism is the philosophical position that matter is the only really ‘real’ thing in the universe. And I think that worked kind of well because science started 400 years ago and Galileo made that split, I call it the foundational wound. It was a great business move.He said, let's start doing science on that portion of reality that lends itself more easily to mathematization and measurement. So, for some reason, the solidity of this table or the movement of planets lend themselves very well to this foundational idea of science. But as time went on, 400 years later, we realized that we had forgotten the other side, which is what really matters.What really matters is pain, is love, is feelings, sensation, consciousness, which is very hard to define, but very intimate. We all know what it is. It's that thing that disappears when we go into deep sleep and comes back in the morning. SUGGESTED VIEWING On the edges of knowledge With Michael Shermer, Rupert Sheldrake, Güneş Taylor It's what it is like to be, as Nagel said. It's the feeling of being alive. So, materialism is good to study certain things, but then when it ossifies into this ideology and then is dressed like science, now it's preventing us from understanding these key questions that are really that everybody wants to know.Why are we here? Why do we feel reality? Where do we go when we die? And so we need other ways. We need pluralism. I'm only asking for having more options on the table and taking them seriously. Why does materialism fail to explain consciousness? For example, if you were to lobotomize me, I would not be a functional human being. What do you say to someone who might think that materialism adequately explains the mind?Well, here we could speak about different things. We could talk about physics or about neuroscience. I happen to have training with both.For instance, for neuroscientists, 99% of them, I'm not included in that portion, believe that the brain can only be a productive organ. It's an organ that somehow, somewhere, consciousness emerges. It's like a lamp. And then something happens, magic happens, and then consciousness emerges.That's the position you need to be if you're a materialist because if the only really ‘real’ thing is matter, then you need to say, just give us some more time and money and we'll figure out how mind emerges or is produced from matter. There are many philosophically sophisticated ways of criticizing this.Now there's another option, which is the brain as a permissive organ. This was said by William James more than 100 years ago.Now then the brain wouldn't be like this machine, like for instance, a heat engine whose smoke is consciousness, which is what we would have in the first big model, the productive model. But in the permissive model, the brain would be a kind of a filter. And so the brain would still have a very important role in consciousness, but it wouldn't be a productive role.It would be permissive, much like a filter or much like a prism which would receive light. And - I'm speaking metaphorically - it would receive the light of the mind and then it could reflect it and refract it.Now, with these two big options on the table, I think we can make progress into what I call the edges of consciousness, which are all these experiences, weird experiences that many people have, but we don't talk about enough, like near-death experiences, precognitive dreams, synchronicities. These experiences are very important for humans and they have a place in the permissive hypothesis and they are literally impossible in the productive hypothesis. So that's yet one more reason to explore alternatives to materialism. There may be anecdotal evidence for near-death experiences, but is there robust evidence that would be accepted by the majority of scientists who subscribe to the scientific method?Sure. And the plural of anecdotes, someone said, is data.And there's a lot of data. Actually, this year is the 50th anniversary, half a century, since Dr. Raymond Moody realized that we have two ears and one mouth and started listening to what his patients had to say about their experiences while they were clinically dead.The heart had stopped, breathing had stopped in these patients. These patients would come back and tell him these amazing stories that some people may say are hallucinations, but for the patients were hyper-real, like seeing light at the end of the tunnels, seeing deceased family members waiting for them, feeling bliss.___I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain.___And so he and others started taking them seriously and writing their accounts down. And then you can do a science based on that material of experience that people have. Now, on the more objective side, more recently people have started to measure what's going on in the brain when people are clinically dead and brought back. This has opened a proper field of study, which is near-death studies.Evidence is a difficult word, because sometimes people think that when you say evidence, this is just the final proof. Evidence is like in a jury. You bring testimony, you bring pieces of data that point in one direction or another.I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain. When brains are broken or shut off, there can still be mind going on. And that's revolutionary.That would entail that when we die, it's not game over, which, by the way, is the thesis of materialism. If consciousness survives, materialism dies. It's game over for materialism if something of us continues after we die. Do you think that there is mental continuity after death?Well, I think so, and I believe so, and I could also say I may have experienced it myself, because four years ago I had a near-death experience. I was in the hospital, I lost a lot of blood, and I saw those beings at the end of the tunnel, three beings, and there was yellow light. I was in a well, I was looking upwards, and I hadn't read about NDEs by then, but when I came back from this experience, I decided I would try to integrate this also in my professional life. Not just my personal life, of course, but my professional life as a physicist and as a neuroscientist. So I may have had the experience of glimpses of what an afterlife would be, and I'm not ashamed to say it in this way, and then one can do science of it, and then one can do philosophy of it.One can think about what -isms we were discussing, what views on reality would allow those experiences to be really ‘real,’ as opposed to, well, poor guy, the brain was kind of broken, it must have been a hallucination. Do you have a view about whether individuality or “the ego” persists after death, or whether we sort of merge into some sort of cosmic consciousness instead?I don't know, but my view would be along those lines you're suggesting. I think we could speak about a kind of universal mind, and then the problem is not how we emerge from matter, but how we fragment from a more holistic consciousness into these individual eddies and then when we die, this kind of dissipates.But I'm not sure. For instance, idealism would promote that view, but then what would survive of us after these eddies just vanish and become again the big Consciousness, I'm not sure what that would be. I don't know for sure, but I would tell you I believe something of us survives.And there are other lines of research, not just near-death experience, that can address this really hard question of survival. For instance, there are children who remember previous lives. This was studied by Ian Stevenson at the University of Virginia for more than 50 years.___Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.___It's amazing research. He went all over the world, especially in the East, and collected all these case studies, all these stories. In plural, these were data of kids, very young age, who would describe up to 40 items that then he could go and verify.There was no internet. There was really no way the kid could know. Why would the kid say that when I was living in this other body and I was a woman and that's how my house would look like or that's how I would die, right? Again, there is evidence, not proof, but there's evidence not only that something weird and interesting is happening as we cross the threshold, but also when we come back to this life.Scientists should not be afraid of studying this, but they are because there's stigma. There's usually stigma upon the enigma, and this is so unfortunate. And one of the reasons is because of the ideology of materialism, because those things cannot be possible. What is wrong with the politics of science such that they have generated this stigma?So many things. Science is a human activity to begin with.So it falls prey to all our passions and ego and greed. That's one thing. Science is a job for the good and for the bad.You need to get a salary. You need to get grants. Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.And then, we didn't have time to unpack this, but science for many years become entangled, as I was suggesting before, to other -isms, materialism, secularism. So anything that smells like the afterlife, people may think has to do with God, and then they freak out.Anything that suggests that there's something about the mind that may not need a physical material substrate to exist, it smells like non-materialism. So, all these -isms are ideologically blocking that kind of research, and then there are all these sociopolitical constraints as to what should be studied and what shouldn't be studied.I call it the backstage of science. Sometimes we scientists or science communicators seem to speak as if the data is the only thing that matters. We say, well, data and theory.But then there's a third leg of this stool, which is all the politics that goes behind the scenes. And we often don't speak about this, and it's quite vicious and petty, and it's very real. Why is materialism so attractive to most scientists?Well, an easy answer is because we've grown up with it.It's what the educational system promotes, and that's what you hear when you go to university. So it's like growing in a culture. It feels like the air in which you breathe.So it's very hard to begin with to detect, well, maybe there's another alternative. Maybe there are other ways of doing science, other environments in which one could do science. That's one reason.And other reasons maybe are more profound, and I'm not qualified to explain them, but I could say, looking at this 400-year history of science, since it started around 1623 with Galileo's book The Assayer, that science went and coupled with all what's going on in the West.And so the fall of religion, you could say, and science presented us this new alternative that then could be coupled very well with other -isms, and this idea of growth, and then science losing its good twin brother, which was philosophy. There's a whole natural history of science starting as philosophy, kind of emancipating or breaking out from philosophy, and then marrying technology, and then marrying other social systems.From that point of view, materialism is a very convenient idea to propose. There were attempts, like the German idealists tried to do a more romantic science. But no, the idea prevailed, like Francis Bacon said: You should pursue nature through all her corners, he said, and make her spill her secrets.Our attitude towards nature in the science that dominates is very much reflecting how we treat nature in our society, in our culture, like a resource to extract secrets by force and then dominate it. How is materialism related to the notions of growth and progress? What's wrong with having a productive citizenry?This is another very interesting and very difficult question to answer.But there's this recent book coming out by Paul Kingsnorth. In it, he explains this idea of the machine and this idea of progress. And this, again, this conflation of more is better, of we need to go forward always, and convincing us that the way to do that is to continually extract more from nature. But because we don't have the religious context anymore, because God is dead, then what do we have? We have what we can do as humans with our own gadgets.It's kind of the story of the Promethean fire. We will just build anything to make ourselves God.A good example today is transhumanism. Transhumanism is this pseudo-religion dressed in technoscientific language whose goal is very religious. They promise immortality, they promise redemption, they promise transformation of the entire natural world, but it's done by human means through technology. Are you suggesting that we can't have ethics without religion?Well, we should have ethics with or without religion. That's another pruning that has happened in science. We say, forget about aesthetics, although some physicists still think that beautiful means probably true, and forget about politics. We pretend there's no backstage of science, and even let's forget about ethics.___Science needs to be in the service of mankind.___Scientists, when they become more like engineers, they're just thinking how to make things work so that they can go to the moon, go to Mars, make machines that think, but they don't think whether that's a good idea.And also consider metaphysics. Many scientists for a long time pretended, and maybe that comes from the stream of positivisms, that really one doesn't need metaphysics at all, except that materialism is always the metaphysics running the system.You see, it's not just ethics. It's the pruning of all of these, you could say, five main legs of philosophy that just makes a kind of unconscious science, a science that doesn't really know what it's doing. It's doing it very well locally, but it just doesn't know what it's doing globally. Do you think science has to have an ultimate vision and purpose behind it for it to be effective or for it to be meaningful and transformative?Yes, a way I would say that is that science needs to be in the service of mankind. And it hasn't been that. And we can see it through, you know, when we discovered the secrets of the atom, and all of a sudden, the Manhattan Project, and then we create nuclear weapons.And now we're trying to crack how machines may think, and now we're creating this mess, right? So science needs to be in service of mankind, not in service of a few ideas that maybe want to make more money or just dominate upon nature. What about planes, trains, automobiles, and modern medicine? Hasn't science served mankind by helping us develop those technologies?Yes and no. I see where you're going, and it's fair.I came here by plane, and it's a blessing. When I almost died, the surgeons did their job, and they saved my life. But these two forced choices between Luddites and Silicon Valley types, I think, of course, it's a false dichotomy.Progress, in a way, it's good, but we often don't speak about the dark side of the moon. We say the great things that progress has brought, and we don't speak about the disasters, the side effects that it has come with, and the same when we promise new technologies. We tend to think that any technology is great, that email is going to save us so much time because we don't need to write letters and send them anymore.Is that true? I spend so many hours a week writing emails. Let's just say there are great things about it and bad things about it. People like Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, for example, argue that we've made moral progress over time because of the Enlightenment. Do you think that's totally wrong-headed?I think he's emphasizing a side of the moon, and he does that very well, and you can find tons of plots where there's a slope going up and say it's great. But I think he should also tell the not-so-friendly story.But if your ideology is just to resist and continue to explain that the Enlightenment is the best thing ever and reason is the best thing ever… this feels to me like you're worshipping these abstractions.I'm very critical of it and also of these, again, science communicators and scientists that say, Oh, science says, in the name of science, experts say. It's like, come on, let's be careful because we can shoot ourselves in the foot by putting forth to the people an image of science that we know is not really true. Recently there's been a resurgence of spirituality and of people who say that they're spiritual but not religious, especially in the United States. If materialism is going away, what is going to fill that gap? Are we going to return to traditional religion? Do you see that being connected with the rise of the political right?I'm not a fortune teller, so I don't know what's going to happen. But, yeah, we could say we're in this post-materialist age and even post-secular age. One cannot come back to the past, but maybe just to contact with the roots is a good idea.What do I mean by that? I think we need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method. We need to do so in a culture where we realize humans cannot thrive in a vacuum where there's this idea that the sacred has to be removed.Now, how do we do that without bringing in back all the vices of religion? I don't know. I'm from a Catholic country.Here we are in England, so there are differences and interreligious dialogue has always been a challenge. But I think maybe a way of putting it is: after all these conflicts and branchings I was quickly alluding to, science from philosophy and then also from religion, now there's a time of reconciliation perhaps and maybe debates in the proper sense, like exchange of ideas in service of learning and getting into something higher than both poles. We need science to talk to religious people and it's interesting when people say they're spiritual and not religious.I think this is just a way of saying, no, I don't want to go back, I want to go forward. But at the end of the day, religions have offered us practices and grounding that we now desperately need. Everybody can and should just meditate or pray or do whatever they want, but we're in a crisis and it's time for reconciliation. What do you say to critics that say you are merely projecting our need for meaning onto a fundamentally indifferent universe?Yeah, I know that the typical science communicator says something like this. But we're not projecting. Human beings feed on meaning.It's the other way around. If you're a materialist, because the only thing that there is is matter, all that comes next, free will, consciousness, meaning, this is a kind of illusion that we need to explain.They're just craving for meaning, but there isn't really for them. I would also like to remind my materialist friends that for decades, if not centuries, they've said in the name of science, we know that this and this and this doesn't really exist. I think now they sense they're forced to say, well, actually, we don't know. We've been saying, for instance, that there's nothing after you die, and now probably they need to admit that they don't know the answer.___We need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method.___So it's a moment to open up possibilities and also to gently but fiercely critique these claims that I think harm society. If you say in the name of science, get on with it, when your father dies, you'll never see him again. Well, what the F do you know about it? You haven't studied the literature, you haven't had any of those experiences, and basically what you're doing is you're just doing marketing on ideology. This needs to stop. Do you think that it's scarier for some people to entertain the thought that there might be life after death, compared to a materialist worldview where you just die, given that there might be consequences for unsavory behaviour?Well, death and dying is scary. It's maybe the ultimate ending. It's a limit on life, and when we're in this conquest mode, we don't like limits.And it also has, there's a shockwave backwards, so I think if you change your notion of what death is or may be, you live differently. It also has consequences, as you're saying, for the future because this is not our only goal here and we come back in whatever form. And again, different religions would say different things. I the East, they are more happy with the idea of reincarnation, and here in the West, there are other preferences. But in any case, it changes how we live, and that's really what matters.It's not about just projecting or imagining what we'll be after, but how we live now and also how we treat those who are dying. So it goes from the individual to the families, to the hospitals.Now in the near-death research I do, this has ramifications at all these levels, all the way to society.But our society is thanatophobic. It has a phobia of death. We don't want to hear about death, and this is another thing we need to put on the table and be willing to talk about it. Do you think that we might get closer to answering ultimate questions like why is there anything at all if we jettison materialism?That’s an excellent question, Simon. Two things: we should stop treating reality, I believe, as a great sudoku, as an enigma, as something that with intelligence, money, and time that we will crack and instead treat reality more like a mystery. And what you do for in front of a mystery is not to be the clever guy in a class and say “I’ll solve you” but more like “I will bow and you will transform me.”I know this sounds a bit like a scientist speaking like a mystic. But I think this reorientation is needed. In the end, we won’t crack the big questions, but they will transform us. If we free ourselves from this prison of materialism, the way we will explore these questions will be freer, more creative, and in service of mankind. Do you think exploring mystery is the reason why we are here?I think we are here because, and this pseudo-theological argument I’m making off the cuff, But the One, the Absolute, if there is such a thing, had everything except limitation. We are that absolute experiencing that contingency. It’s like an act of divine proprioception. It’s a wonderful adventure, it’s just incredible to be alive. Perhaps we have forgotten why we are here and the whole point is to experience the flesh.Let me end by saying this. I criticize materialism harshly. I bang on this dead horse, because I think it’s dead. But matter is a great mystery. So maybe my invitation is as follows: hey materialist friends, come here, let’s work on materialism 2.0! Consciousness is a mystery, but matter is also a mystery. The fact that we can have an intersubjective experience consensus, the fact that we can apply mathematics, that we can measure things... the physical world we take for granted, but it is a great mystery too.Maybe that’s related to your last question: why are we here? Why did spirit decide to incarnate? Being in the flesh may be a great thing if spirit decided to do so.Àlex Gómez-Marín, thank you very much.My pleasure.
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